Verizon Defends Samsung in Apple Patent Lawsuit

Verizon has submitted a request to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California to file an amicus curiae brief (friend of the court) in favor of Samsung in its patent war with Apple.

Apple has filed paperwork with the same court requesting a preliminary injunction against the Samsung Infuse 4G, Galaxy S 4G, Droid Charge, and Galaxy Tab 10.1, with a court hearing on the matter expected to go down October 13.

Verizon "supports without reservation the protection of intellectual property rights," and claims that a court decision in favor of Apple "would hinder Verizon Wireless in developing and deploying its next generation high-speed LTE [fourth-generation] network, the job growth dependent on that network, and will undercut key public policy goals, including expansion of American's [sic] access to broadband networks and faster communication with emergency personnel."

Its brief refers only to Apple's patent complaint that deals with Android, rather than Apple's other three patent complaints against Samsung. While Verizon does currently sell the iPhone, it still lags behind AT&T in overall iPhone sales. It's in Verizon's best interest for Samsung, who makes Android devices, to prevail in the suit.

What do you think about the whole Samsung/Apple patent debacle? Do you think Verizon should get involved?